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TAIZÉ

Weekly Meditations by Brother Alois

Meditation by Brother Alois: Being able to receive the difference of the other

Thursday 28 July 2022It is a great joy for us brothers to see you again at Taizé in such large numbers, from Europe, and even from further afield, from the United States, Korea and elsewhere. A warm welcome to you all! I would especially like to greet the young volunteers who are spending a longer period here. They come from various European countries, and also from several countries in (...)

2 August 2022
Meditation by Brother Alois: “The Holy Spirit makes of us builders of peace and unity”

Saturday 11 June 2022What a joy to be together in this Pentecost week! The Covid pandemic has left its mark on all of us and has often isolated us, now we feel all the more deeply the beauty of being able to meet together. We, the brothers, are very glad to welcome you, especially to the common prayers. And we would like all those who enter this church of reconciliation to feel that it is God (...)

15 June 2022
Meditation by Brother Alois : “Death does not have the last word any more”

Saturday 16 April 2022It is a great joy to be here in such large numbers to celebrate the feast of Easter. We will be lighting the Easter fire tomorrow morning at 6.15 in the garden above St Stephen’s Spring. Then at 10 o’clock we celebrate the Eucharist. To remind us of the women who first announced to the apostles that Jesus was risen, a group of women will be bringing the Easter fire to the (...)

19 April 2022
“From which source can we draw life?”

Thursday 26 August 2021As the summer nears its end, it is a particular joy for us brothers to welcome you to Taizé this week, which is the biggest of the summer. With the sisters and the volunteers who live with us, we were very sad in the spring to have to close the welcome: so we are very happy to see so many of you again this week. In the difficult context that we are all going through, it (...)

28 August 2021
Ascension 2021 | Christ Is Our Unity

From May 13-16, in Frankfurt, Germany, the third ecumenical "Kirchentag" took place. During the ecumenical worship celebration on television, Brother Alois gave the following sermon.Thursday 13 May 2021 Today we are celebrating the Ascension. God took Jesus to himself. That seems like a happy ending. But the disciples felt abandoned by Jesus. They were disappointed. The expectations they had (...)

13 May 2021
Meditation by Brother Alois: Easter 2021 | The Source of a New Hope

Sunday 4 April 2021 | Taizé, Church of Reconciliation Welcome to all of you present in Taizé on this Easter day. It is good that we can be together, united in prayer, at a time when a new period of travel restrictions in France is beginning as a result of the pandemic. I would also like to extend a very warm welcome to those who are following us this morning via internet, in different countries (...)

5 April 2021
Let us set out towards one another

It is a great joy for us brothers to see you gathered here in our Church of Reconciliation. You know, because of the pandemic, we had to close the welcome in Taizé in mid-March and we were very sad about that. We cannot imagine our community life without hospitality. But this period of lockdown also allowed us to live a kind of community sabbatical and to think about the essentials. In a way, (...)

14 September 2020
Easter 2020: A new light dawns

Sunday 12 April 2020 | Taizé With grim news besetting us every day, we ask God to come to the help of our humanity, tested not only by the havoc of the coronavirus, but also by so much other suffering. We entrust to God all who have fallen ill, their loved ones and those who care for them. We are imploring God. But let us be careful not to withdraw into our anguish by simply waiting for this (...)

12 April 2020
Attentive to the presence of God in our lives

Tuesday February 25, 2020 | Taizé, Church of Reconciliation It is a great joy for us brothers to see so many of you gathered here this week. Already, during the past two weeks, the French have come in large numbers to the hill. And now more than 2000 of you have come from Portugal and others from elsewhere. Welcome, everyone! This morning we heard a very powerful story, which comes from the (...)

26 February 2020
To Bring Everything to Light

Tuesday October 22 | Taizé, Church Reconciliation Just over a month ago, with more than 2,000 thousand young people from Africa and beyond, we were gathered for a youth meeting in South Africa, in Cape Town. It was a great joy for me to return to that great country that showed the world, 25 years ago, the strength of the non-violent protest against apartheid. However, it must also be said that (...)

9 November 2019
Responsible for our wonderful planet

Thursday August 29, 2019 | TaizéTonight, I would like to pay special tribute to the many speakers during this week of reflection. We are very grateful that our reflection has been nourished by the contributions of so many experts and friends. These days, we are in particular communion with the young people gathered in Tlemcen in Algeria. They are spending a week there similar to the program of (...)

31 August 2019
Christ Is Our Peace

Thursday August 1st | Taizé, Church of Reconciliation Three times a day, we come together in this Church of Reconciliation. Together we go to the sources of faith. You already know that for us brothers, this week is marked by the death of our Brother Jacques, on the night of Monday to Tuesday. We will hold with all of you the farewell celebration on Saturday at noon. Brother Jacques lived a (...)

3 August 2019
The Earth Is a Precious Gift of God

Thursday July 25 | Taizé, Church of Réconciliation This evening I would like to greet particularly those of us who come from two countries well represented this week in Taizé: Lebanon, where we had had a beautiful stage of the pilgrimage of trust at the end of March, and Hong Kong, with which many links of friendship unite us. As you probably know, if we can welcome so many of you in Taizé, it (...)

3 August 2019
The Joyful Radicalism of Saint Francis of Assisi

Thursday July 11 | Taizé, Church of Reconciliation In this first big week of the summer, it is a great joy to see so many of you here. You have come from all over Europe, especially from Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, but I would also like to greet especially the young people from other continents, from many countries of the world. Some of you will stay in Taizé for the whole summer as (...)

16 July 2019
Pentecost 2019: Make sure that Taizé remains a place of trust

Thursday 13 June 2019 | Taizé, Church of Reconciliation This week began with the celebration last Sunday of Pentecost, a feast that is closely linked to the joy of Easter. In fact, Pentecost marks as it were the accomplishment of the Easter Season: Jesus has overcome death. He is alive in God’s presence. Suffering, hatred, and violence have not had the last word. By this feast of Pentecost, we (...)

20 June 2019
Easter 2019: Let the Joy of the Resurrection Spring Up!

Saturday April 20 | Taizé, Church of Reconciliation Last night, it was around the cross of Jesus that we gathered. Why had he, who had done no harm to anyone, been put to death with such cruelty? No explanation is enough to really answer this question. And throughout the history of humanity, there are so many innocent victims of human violence! Jesus loved to the end; he did not condemn (...)

23 April 2019
Lent: Singing the Joy of Forgiveness

Tuesday March 5 | Church of ReconciliationIt is a great joy for us brothers to see so many of you here this week. Already during the past two weeks, many French people came to the hill, but beforehand, during the winter, there were few pilgrims. Some weeks, the volunteers were even more numerous than the young visitors. And now, there are 2000 of you from Portugal and still others from (...)

12 March 2019
Going together to the wellsprings of joy

Thursday August 23 | Taizé, Church of ReconciliationThese days in Taizé are special, with this program of workshops and round-tables made possible by the presence of so many guest speakers involved in various areas. The wide range of topics, the depth of the exchanges and the participation of all of you make this week a beautiful event of this summer on the hill. For my part, I returned from (...)

23 August 2018
Widening Our Friendship

Thursday July 12 | Taizé, Church of ReconciliationThis week in Taizé is very international. This diversity is present at every moment of our life: in common prayer with readings in many languages, for the communication in small sharing-groups or work-teams and, first and foremost, through the personal encounters that we can all have. A bit later, a child will read the list of all the countries (...)

14 July 2018
Christ calls us to be, together, a sign of his peace among humans

Saturday, March 31 [9] What brings us together these days? Is it an idea, a doctrine, a system of thought? No, it’s a person, Jesus. And, throughout this week, we have accompanied him during the last moments of his life, until the end. At the end of this week, we remain with a question: this man, who did no harm to anyone, who on the contrary had done good to so many poor people, why did (...)

31 March 2018
The Bible is the story of God’s faithfulness

Thursday August 31We have a beautiful summer behind us. The day before yesterday evening a few young people from Lebanon came to say goodbye. And I wondered: do they know how valuable their stay of three months with us was? They bring us closer to the Middle East and transmit their thirst for peace. Several young Arab Christians are still here. We like to sing with them in Arabic our song (...)

1 September 2017
Simplify our lives in order to share

Thursday August 10 We are in the midst of a beautiful summer and I would like to express my admiration this evening to those who stay for a long time on the hill, the volunteers who are here for a year and those who help out for a few weeks. Through their commitment they support the meetings so much. Among them are some 120 young people from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. (...)

26 August 2017
The friendship of Christ for each and every one of us

August Thursday 17Tonight we have been praying for the victims of the attack in Barcelona. The presence of young people from this region makes us even closer to those who have directly experienced these events. After this meeting, we will sing El Senyor, in Catalan language, with in particular these words: “No tinc por! Do not be afraid!” It has been over fifty years that generations of young (...)

17 August 2017
Looking towards the light of the transfigured Christ

For most of you, the stay here in Taizé only lasts a week. For us brothers, for the sisters, for the young volunteers, this week is in the middle of the summer meetings on the hill; we are half way through this beautiful summer. For us it is a great joy to welcome you and to be together with so many people week after week. If there is a nice atmosphere of joy on the hill, we do not forget that (...)

6 August 2017
Stand firm in hope

July Thursday 27It is a joy for us brothers to welcome you all on the hill. From China, Korea or Australia to North and South America, from Finland to South Africa, including the Arab countries, we are together in a beautiful diversity. This communion lived in the concrete situation of our days is a precious gift that is given to us all. It stimulates the hope that solidarity can be (...)

27 July 2017
Find a source of hope

Last week and this week mark in Taizé the beginning of a beautiful summer. Many young people come to pray, to search for a source for their lives. We, the brothers, with the sisters and volunteers who spend time on the hill, are happy to welcome you. You have seen in the proposals made for 2017 that, with all those who succeed each other here week after week, we would like to open new paths of (...)

14 July 2017
Ascension 2017 / Meditation by Brother Alois: Let us set off toward new horizons

We are very numerous this weekend on the hill of Taizé. At this same moment, some brothers are in the United States, in St Louis, for a meeting for young Americans. We would like to greet the participants of this weekend meeting, which is being held in a city marked by recent serious tensions between different communities, but where there are also people seeking peace and reconcilation. The (...)

26 May 2017
Easter 2017 / Meditation by Brother Alois: Witnesses to the Risen Christ

Thursday April 20, 2017These days we tirelessly sing: “Christ is risen”. To understand this central reality of our faith, we lack words. So singing together the resurrection of Jesus helps us to put our trust in a mystery that is beyond us. What is this mystery? Because Christ is risen, he is present to each and every one of us, he loves every person unconditionally, and this love will last (...)

23 April 2017
The goodness of God will have the last word

Wednesday 13 April 2017 [14] With you this week, as with all those who will come to Taizé throughout this year, we would like to seek how to open new paths of hope, around us and in the world. It is true that we are in a world where many know despair. There are many reasons for this. There is violence, continuing wars, the recent attacks in Egypt and Sweden. This Holy Week allows us to (...)

13 April 2017
Looking towards the Light of Christ

Thursday 4 August 2016On Monday I returned from Poland. With some brothers we took part in World Youth Day in Krakow. At the same time, one of our brothers participated in the gathering of young French Protestants which was in Brittany. In Poland, during the week before WYD, the brothers were at Auschwitz, near Krakow, and led prayer with young people who visited the concentration camp of (...)

9 August 2016
By welcoming refugees, we receive more than we give

Thursday 14 July 2016Three times a day we gather in this church that bears the name Church of Reconciliation. On entering we are all invited to commit ourselves to reconciliation. But what does this word mean? Probably for all of us, the word reconciliation evokes conflicts and divisions that challenge us and that we would like to solve. But we must first take another step. It is welcoming (...)

17 July 2016
A little parable of this universality of God’s love

Thursday 19 May 2016This whole week we are celebrating Pentecost. That is the culmination of Easter. Jesus conquered death. He is alive with God. Suffering, disease, hatred and violence are not the last word. What are we celebrating in this feast of Pentecost? Before his death, Jesus made a mysterious announcement; he said to his disciples, I will send you an Other who will help you, he will (...)

20 May 2016
All of us can plant seeds of unity

Saturday 7 May 2016These days we are celebrating the Ascension, Christ’s return to heaven; we are extending the Easter feast at the heart of our faith. Jesus conquered death. He is living with God. Suffering, disease, hatred and violence do not have the last word. Through this feast we celebrate our hope. For us too, like Jesus, in every situation in which we find ourselves, God can open a way (...)

7 May 2016
Let us be peacemakers wherever we live

Saturday 26 March 2016With this evening’s prayer we enter into the night of Easter. We prepare to celebrate tomorrow the resurrection of Jesus, this great mystery that we never understand completely but that can transform our lives. After the violent death of Jesus, the disciples locked themselves in out of fear. They felt this death as the end of their hope and as the failure of their (...)

26 March 2016
Committing Your Entire Life

Thursday 20 August 2015This year, as you all know, is an anniversary year for Taizé. Some of you already arrived Sunday and were able to participate in the prayer that we celebrated in memory of Brother Roger. August 16 was the anniversary of his death, ten years ago. And today, August 20, is another anniversary. Just 75 years ago today, Brother Roger arrived for the first time in this small (...)

6 September 2015
Promoting Universal Friendship

Thursday 13 August 2015Brothers will go to live in Cuba On Sunday, we will remember Brother Roger. It will be the anniversary of his death. And we will also recall his 100th birthday and the 75th anniversary of his arrival at Taizé. He left us as a legacy one of his major concerns: peace, sharing, solidarity among human beings. He spoke of “struggle and contemplation”; he knew that God’s (...)

25 August 2015
Close to Wounded Humanity

Thursday 30 July 2015Throughout this summer we are recalling Brother Roger—his birth a hundred years ago, his arrival in Taizé 75 years ago and his death ten years ago. If, while the world war was raging, he founded a community, that is because he was convinced that Christians should be reconciled in order to be together a ferment of peace in the human family. He did not want to remain (...)

6 August 2015
When we share God gives us the joy of living

Saturday 16 May 2015Each time we leave Taizé, we always remain amazed, we brothers, when we return, to find the church so full, as it is these days of the feast of the Ascension. Several of my brothers and I were in Rome this week where the general assembly of Caritas International was meeting, with delegates from 138 countries across the world. They had asked us to prepare a prayer every day (...)

27 May 2015
Christ is our hope, he is alive

Saturday 4 April 2015 All this Holy Week, the prayers have brought us closer to Jesus. We have watched him take the path of suffering and death. Holy Saturday—today—has placed us in the silence of God that Jesus knew and shared with so many men and women who feel they are abandoned by God. And here we are tonight on the eve of the resurrection of Jesus. He conquered death. How? By his love, (...)

10 April 2015
In Communion with Eastern Christians

Thursday 21 August 2014 One of the things that characterizes our meetings throughout the summer here in Taizé is that we come from different Churches. Living together for a few days, God enables us to anticipate unity and to welcome one another in our diversity. The search for unity among Christians does not just concern theologians and Church leaders. More than ever, in order to advance towards unity, all of us, each of us can make a commitment to "live as people who are reconciled" in our (...)

25 August 2014
In Memory of Brother Roger

Thursday 14 August 2014Week after week it is a joy to be so many on the hill and to sing to God in prayer. Christ unites us in a great diversity. The unity that we are given to live is an image of what we hope for all humanity. These days, we are close to the young adult meeting that is taking place now at Tlemcen in Algeria. Every day they have the same prayers as we do and the same (...)

16 August 2014
The Wellspring of Hope

Saturday 31 May 2014Many of us brothers have just returned from various visits we made this spring. Some went to Ukraine, another to Russia. In serious conflict that is taking place at this time, there is in both countries women and men who want peace. I myself, with other brothers, was in Mexico for a beautiful gathering of 2000 young people from different countries. In particular, we had a prayer vigil in the sanctuary of the Virgin of Guadalupe, where several thousand people from the (...)

6 June 2014
The Risen Christ Makes Us Passionate Seekers of Communion

Saturday 19 April 2014This Holy Week, which will culminate tomorrow morning in the celebration of Easter, enables us to live days of intensity. Having come here from so many different countries, we experience a communion beyond the borders of languages and denominations. Tomorrow we shall greet each other, as Christians do all across the world, with these words: “Christ is risen – He is risen (...)

23 April 2014
Christ brings us together beyond all borders

The summer is coming to an end. And many of you are going back to school or work. For us, the brothers of the community, the end of summer means that many of us will leave the hill for some time. Tomorrow, two brothers leave for Africa. You know that in November we will have our third international meeting of young adults in Africa—in Kigali, Rwanda. Then there will be the European meeting in Rome. In both places, brothers along with sisters of St. Andrew and a team of young volunteers will (...)

1 September 2012
The Church of Reconciliation at 50

Thursday 9 August 2012This week we are celebrating a special anniversary. Fifty years ago, on August 6, 1962, the church in which we are gathered was inaugurated. You may know that it is called the “Church of Reconciliation.” Our brother Denis, who is an architect, designed it and young Germans from “Aktion Sühnezeichen,” an organization created for reconciliation after the World War, assumed the work of building it. Over the years, this church has been altered and extended because Brother Roger (...)

12 August 2012